Madhya Pradesh records highest crimes against tribals in 2024
Bhopal: A tribal youth in Indore was allegedly beaten and humiliated by two men who forced him to tie their shoelaces after accusing him of reckless driving on August 19, 2024. Weeks later, in Singrauli, tribal farmer Indrapal Agariya was allegedly run over by a tractor while trying to stop illegal sand mining on his land in September. Police initially treated the incident as an accident, and no murder case was registered, according to a Times of India report dated September 3, 2024.
These incidents reflect a larger and troubling trend in Madhya Pradesh, which recorded 3,165 cases of crimes against tribals in 2024, the highest in the country, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. The state accounted for 31.75% of all tribal atrocity cases in India. This marks an 11% rise from 2023, when the state ranked second after Manipur, which saw a peak in ethnic violence. In 2021 and 2022, Madhya Pradesh topped the list, but in 2023 it was second. However, in 2024, the state recorded 3,165 cases, a figure comparable to Manipur's 3,399 in 2023, a statistical anomaly that the state must address.
Rajasthan followed with 2,282 cases, and Maharashtra was third with 830 cases. Murder cases involving tribal victims rose from 47 in 2023 to 62 in 2024, a 24% increase, while the national increase was 13% during the same period.
Highest number of rape cases
According to NCRB data, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of rape cases against tribal women for the second consecutive year, with 358 cases in 2024 and 357 in 2023, accounting for 28% of all such cases in India in 2024. Sexual harassment cases saw a slight decline from 47 to 43, indicating little change in the crime rate. The safety of tribal women remains a constant concern. In May 2024, a case was reported where a man used a voice-changing app to lure and rape multiple tribal girls on the pretext of providing scholarships.
In a category with few cases nationwide, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat each recorded 7 cases of kidnapping, abduction, or inducing tribal girls to compel marriage, together accounting for 14 of the 18 such cases in 2024.
No state for tribal children?
When it comes to tribal children, the state's record is dismal. The number of rape cases against tribal children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act increased from 132 to 137. Most tribal children kidnapped in the country were from Madhya Pradesh, with 7 out of 13 cases registered here. Second only to Rajasthan, the report shows that 5 of the 19 cases of missing children deemed kidnapped were also filed in Madhya Pradesh.
Pattern continues
Less than two weeks ago, on April 30, a tribal youth was stripped, thrashed, and urinated on in Bhopal over a dispute the accused had with the youth's neighbor and friend. This incident underscores the persistent pattern of violence against tribals in the state.
